Schiff says no locations are harder to inspect; discusses pest and construction coordination
Schiff says DOHMH inspects in every neighborhood and does not find any location especially hard to inspect. She describes the pest control program, restaurant pest-management training, and internal cross-referrals, and Schulman suggests coordinating with DOB on construction that affects nearby businesses.
Are there locations where it's more difficult for you to conduct inspections?
And if so, why?
I don't think so.
Like a location or something?
No, we're all over the city.
We're in every neighborhood.
We have people working, you know, early and late.
No.
And I think there was, I think I saw someplace where it said a lot of issues have to do, you know, we have the highest rat population of any city in the country.
That it has something to do with vermin and stuff like that.
And so do you work with any other?
I know we don't have the rat czar anymore, but do you work with any other agencies around that issue?
So the health department, also within the environmental health division, has a pest control program.
A part of our training for restaurants is about pest management.
There are very specific requirements in our food safety rules about...
Controlling pests, maintaining conditions that reduce the risk of pests.
And we also, you know, where there are extreme situations in a restaurant, which is not common, we can mostly handle the pest conditions within the Food Safety Bureau, but there are opportunities for internal
cross-referrals if we need to call in our pest program.
So what I'm also going to ask, because we're going to have a tremendous amount of construction to build new housing and everything else, and maybe work with DOB
around that issue when they have construction in various places, that especially now, like in my district, I have construction that's going to involve small businesses that are around where the construction sites are and stuff.
I mean, I think that would be helpful.
Thank you.
I'm going to...